Patriots Get Win Over Division Rivals Before Season Even Begins

The Patriots are gearing up for what should be an intense division race in 2023. Though New England hasn’t claimed the AFC East title since 2019, Bill Belichick’s squad very well could be in the running this year, especially if the top teams cannibalize each other.

Even though the Pats are the underdogs entering the campaign, they’ve already got the advantage in one area.

NFL Stadium Rankings

The Athletic recently released an updated ranking of the 30 venues in current use for NFL games. Gillette Stadium received the best spot among all AFC East teams, placing No. 21. The Pats were followed by the Bills (Highmark Stadium, No. 24), Jets (MetLife Stadium, No. 25) and Dolphins (Hard Rock Stadium, No. 28).

A subjective list of the league’s best football venues isn’t anything worth going crazy over, but it’s nice to see New England get the better of its division rivals at the very least.

Gillette Stadium has helped give the Pats a major advantage over the years as their rosters are hardened by the elements. New England has gone an incredible 134-35 at home since it opened in 2002, and an even better 19-4 in this venue during the playoffs. Obviously having the GOAT and some stacked defenses certainly help prop those numbers up, but you can’t deny that Gillette has a special quality to it.

Hopefully there’s plenty of home cooking in store for Belichick’s team this season. They’ll host Miami in Week 2, Buffalo in Week 7 and New York in Week 18. After going 2-1 against division opponents at Gillette last year, they’ll look to pull off the sweep in 2023.

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